Tales of the Setting Sun
by nemaara
Summary: A few years in the future, Raven and Jinx find themselves leading lives as civilians in Gotham, where Robin has reunited with Batman and has since become Nightwing. When their lives cross again, many adventures ensue, and old feelings are rekindled, though it's not exactly clear whether these emotions are welcome or not. Only time will tell. Pairings undecided, M for safety.
1. Do I Know You? Part I

Disclaimer: Teen Titans isn't mine.

Yes, yes, I know, I should be updating my other stories and I even said I would, but this idea has been driving me _crazy_. Anyway...

Here's a story that doesn't exactly have an set plot necessarily; it'll be more like a show, with short, episode-type plots rather than a long, overarching one (for the most part). No pairings are set, and I don't plan to exactly definitely define any, unless someone can convince me to do so - good luck with that.

And on another side note, I think this one will be fairly complex compared to my other writing. Not necessarily dark, but more complicated. I like experimenting with writing, and chances are, there's going to be a lot of p.o.v. shifts and tense changes. However, it should be clear who's speaking and whether I'm referring to a flashback or not. If it's not clear, then, well, that's my fault.

I'll be clear at the start and say that this story will be mostly Raven, Jinx, and Nightwing (and maybe Batman?) centric. Of course there will be other characters, but they'll all be from the show, or they'll be Batman villains/characters who are pretty famous (ie: Joker, Batgirl, etc.).

Finally, the first two chapters are mostly an introductory sequence to this story. Just to get people more used to the style, setting, and general flow. Basically, most of the events are set in Gotham, a little bit in the future, in which "Rachel Roth" and "Jennifer Pechman" are the two civilians corresponding to... I'm sure you can guess. "Robin" will be Tim Drake, and "Nightwing" will be Richard Grayson (the original Robin from the Teen Titans show), and of course Batman's Batman.

Okay, that's all for now. Happy reading~

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

It drips from the sky, droplet by droplet. So soft, so perfect, so surreal.

It's cool outside. No, cold? Or warm. It... doesn't really matter.

The skies are grey, and it falls in the lightest of drizzles. Barely wet, but there, slowly, slowly soaking through everything. It's wet, but I don't mind. It's calming.

There are shadows everywhere. It is day, but this city - Gotham - is always dark. However, that's fine. The darkness is okay. Although, the filth is occasionally overwhelming. Only sometimes.

The darkness... it's not a problem, is it? Or maybe it is. It's hard to say. I don't mind it. No, actually, I like it, but it's just... it would be better to avoid the shadows. Because _he's _there. It's not that the birds in this city are unfriendly, but... it's just better to remain hidden. Right? He doesn't need to know about me.

He's moving. He's got a mission, huh. He's good at what he does - he always has been. It's not easy to find him, even if you are looking for him, and you never know when he's going to strike either. He's gotten better since - since... ugh. I"m done with that. Being a hero takes its toll. I don't need - no, I can't do it anymore. I vowed to leave it behind. I - he's looking. At me? No, he wouldn't recognize me anyway. He can't control our bond. He doesn't know how. Yes, he's just staring off into empty space. He seems distracted. So he didn't notice.

It's... for the better. He shouldn't know. It should stay like that.

* * *

"Mr. Wayne? Mr. Wayne, sir?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, Laura. What is it?"

"You have a call waiting for you. It's from Richard."

_Richard? What does he want? _"Very well. Connect him please. Thank you."

"Bruce, finally."

"What? You know I'm busy today-"

"It's important. Remember that client you were talking to me about?"

_Client? Client... I see. Ivy. There's a new exhibit of rare and exotic plants at the museum that opens must be going for them, but the exhibit doesn't open until 1. And right now it's only... 12:15._

"I do. What about her?"

"She wants to meet for lunch. But if I remember, you have a doctor's appointment-"

"No, that can wait. I can always reschedule. They won't mind."

"Right. I'm sure they won't."

"Did she mention anywhere specific? I know a number of good restaurants."

"Oh, yes, actually. The Metropolitan Steak House?"

_I see. So that's where he is right now. That's three blocks away from the museum. So she's trying to set something up._

"Very well. I'm on my way. Why don't you two go ahead and sit down? Take it easy for a bit. No need to talk about work until after lunch."

"Errr- that's-"

_So she's planning something big, then._

"Oh, lighten up, Richard. Life's not all about work. But fine, if she wants to, go discuss that job she mentioned. You'll just have to fill me in on the details later."

"Right. See ya soon."

* * *

Something seems a little strange. There's a little more, well... tension... in the air than normal. Nervousness? Someone's worried. Is it just him? He's always been like that, so maybe it's okay. Maybe... no, it's definitely more than normal. He's usually like this when he's on a mission. No, not just that. When he's preparing for a fight or tailing someone. So he _is _following someone. That's - that's not my business. It's not like he can't handle himself. He's done this plenty of times, and besides, he's got help if he needs it. He's fine. He's always been fine. As long as it's not Slade. Besides, I promised to leave that behind a long time ago.

Anyway, what time is it? 12:30, huh. Still have half an hour left on my lunch break before I have to head back to the hospital. Today hasn't really been busy anyway, and I'm sure the other doctors can handle it. I do more than my fair share of the work anyway, for being a surgeon as well. They can't expect me to do everything. Alright, fine, I guess I can stick around for a bit.

Wait a second... there's another one coming nearby. That's- yes. Judging by his voice, it's Batman. So it's that serious, huh. Who are they even after?

I should be able to sense - ah, Poison Ivy. The museum? There's lots of people there for the new exhibit... hmm.

I can't get involved. I... no. I won't get involved, but the least I can do...

I'm a doctor now, so I suppose I can try to help... well, actually Poison Ivy uses a lot of toxins more so than actual weapons. So I can't really do anything about that. It'll take time to make antidotes, and I don't exactly have a lab here right now. Though, if I used my powers- no! No, no, I can't do that. I promised I wouldn't. And besides, I haven't used them in what, six years? The more active ones, at least. But it's still not good. I could lose control. That would be bad. And I can't let him see me either. If I'm going to help, it has to be quietly. I shouldn't let him notice me. It just wouldn't be right.

* * *

"Bruce. She's inside. The exhibit opens in 10 minutes. What should we do?" Nightwing whispered into a communicator.

"It doesn't look like she's doing anything at the moment. I think she's waiting for the people to arrive."

"Have you told Gordon about this yet?"

"I did. We don't want to shut the exhibit down yet, though. If at all possible, we should take her down beforehand."

"Before she's done anything? We can't convict her for that."

"For trespassing, then. Besides, if memory serves me correctly, she still has a few months left on her term at Arkham. She shouldn't be out yet."

"Fine. We need to get her to somewhere as far away from those plants as possible. I don't want to know what she's done with them, and we certainly don't want to damage them."

"Just wait for me to go first."

"Bru- damn it."

Nightwing let out a low hiss as Batman closed the connection. He looked up from his position, crouched behind a large, fern-like plant, peering through the leaves carefully. Around, there was pottery of various sizes, holding a plethora of exotic, strangely shaped plants on display, and on the other side of the room, he spotted Poison Ivy staring at one of them, stroking its leaves as if it were a pet. And in the darkness... was that Batman?

_No. I'm imagining things. He's somewhere else. Somewhere near. But where? Damn it Bruce, why are you so hard to find? Argh. Well, do I let him make the first move or should I? Hmmm - what the-_

One of the plants suddenly began moving and wrapped its arms around Nightwing, restraining him as the villain began walking toward him.

"I knew you two would be here," she smiled at him, eyeing him devilishly. "So predictable, as always."

"Isley! What are you planning?"

"Boy, you're not in any position to be asking me questions."

Abruptly, a projectile flew out of nowhere and sliced through the branches of the plant, right as a shadow appeared on the other side of the room.

"Isn't he?"

"Hey, watch it! That's a rare species of dwarf tree-"

"I know. It's also got incredible regenerative abilities, so you needn't worry about that."

"Well, well, someone's been doing his research- hmph." Poison Ivy ducked aside as Nightwing jumped forward, narrowly missing her.

"What are you planning?" Batman repeated.

"Guess."

"Hn." Batman grumbled under his breath. "Guess we're forcing it out of her then."

* * *

"Come to see the new exhibit, Doctor Roth?"

A short, dark haired woman turned, and smiled slightly, briefly, before looking back at the closed doors. "Obviously. What're you doing out in the middle of the day, Jennifer?"

A cat-like grin was her response. "Same to you, Rach. Shouldn't you be takin' care of all the sick people?"

Rachel Roth sighed. "I feel like I'm about to."

Her friend - who had melded into the alias of Jennifer Pechman - looked at her oddly for a moment, before the realization hit her. "Oh, so they're at it again. Come on, Rach, you can't dwell on it forever! We gave up that life-"

"I'm not."

"Then what are you- oh. _Him_. Still obsessed about him, huh. I see how it is. And I thought we had somethin' between us-"

"Please. I can practically feel the sarcasm oozing off of you."

"Hah, fine. You got me. But seriously, I thought we went over this. Bird boy's always fine. Always has been, always will be-"

"And what if he isn't."

"Well, sucks. He knows what he's gettin' into. And we're done with that shit. Aren't we?"

"I- yeah. We are."

"So, what's the problem?"

"Nothing."

"Hmph. Ya know- you know what. Never mind. You still comin' tonight?"

"To where- right. Your place. Movie night and..." Rachel blushed, looking away.

Jennifer merely grinned. "Let's be real. You love my massages, don't you."

"I... hey, you dyed your hair again. Violet, really?"

"Don't change the subject! And yes, I did."

"Hn."

Rachel looked at the other girl for a minute, tilting her head. They had both changed quite a bit, admittedly, but the once pink-haired girl had probably changed more. For one, her hair was no longer up in the usual horn style, but instead fell around her shoulders and was often different colors; today, it seemed to be violet. Her face was still as angular as ever, but a little more angular, a little more gaunt - and her eyes were carefully concealed behind a pair of contacts, though if one looked carefully, it was still possible to see the pink behind the pale colors. And beyond that, she had filled out nicely. Maybe her body was still slim, and a little boyish, but there were a few more curves now, not that Rachel knew what Jennifer looked like underneath- even though she did...

Rachel's blush deepened and she turned her attention back toward the museum.

"Don't you have a bar to be running?"

"Rae, I own the place. I don't have to do shit if I don't want to."

"Wonderful."

"What'cha tryin' to get rid of me for anyway? Is it ol' bird boy? Sheesh, don't obsess over him too much. Can't have him stealin' ya from me yet."

"Funny joke." Rachel turned back to the museum, then looked at her phone"_"_. "They better take care of this fast. Five minutes until that exhibit opens, so unless they want to lock the whole place down..."

"Why're you so worried anyway?"

"I- well, he- people could get hurt."

"_People_, huh. Alright. Fair enough."

"Shouldn't you be going?"

"Nuh uh. Don't think I don't know you, Rachie. The instant I leave, you're gonna go rushin' in there and-"

"Not a chance. I'm not about to let him - or his mentor - know that I'm alive."

"Good. I don't want them tailin' me either. With my record... wait a second. You're-"

"I'm not lying. But I intend to help if I need to. I'm a doctor, right?"

Jennifer frowned. "Welllll... didn't they move you to the psychiatric ward? You're more of a shrink now, right?"

"Still a doctor."

A sigh was her response. "I'm still keepin' an eye on you."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

"Spores! Nightwing, get down!"

"Too late, boys. Really should react faster."

Batman tugged on a gas mask and ducked aside as Poison Ivy shot an arrow at him from her crossbow, then again as one of the plants swung at him.

"Nightwing, move!"

"I told you. Too late." Poison Ivy paused momentarily, then eyed the motionless hero, smiling to herself. "Hey, boy. Want to help me with something?"

Nightwing frowned, struggling with himself momentarily, but he felt strangely compelled to listen. "Depends on what..."

"I just want you to deliver a message to everyone out there for me. That's fine, isn't it?"

"... sure..."

"Good boy. Now- hey!"

Poison Ivy ducked as Batman charged at her, then rolled aside to avoid a few projectiles. Batman grunted in irritation as they missed, but took the opportunity to grab a hold of Nightwing and tie him down.

"Richard. What are you doing?" he grumbled beneath his breath.

"I... don't know."

_Hmm. She's made something different this time. Must be some sort of airborne drug that makes people more receptive to persuasion. But that wouldn't only work in her favor..._

"I know what you're thinking, Batman," Ivy muttered. "No, it won't work for you. It makes people susceptible to a certain type of pheromone that only I carry. So don't even try."

"Hmm, maybe she's right, Batman. If she-"

"Be quiet!" Batman hissed, then threw out a couple more projectiles, these ones curved a little differently than the ones he had used earlier.

Ivy ducked. "You can't possible expect those to hit me..."

"Can't I?"

The villain looked back again and her eyes widened as she saw them whirl around, spinning back toward her. She dodged barely in time, but one of the blades tore through a pouch at her waist, sending spores flying everywhere through the air. She groaned and glared at Batman hatefully.

"You just _had _to hit that one, didn't you. I was planning to use those for an experiment of mine, but now..." she held a hand to her head. "Oh well. Guess we'll just have to see what happens."

"What do you- oh my..."

Around the two heroes, the plants began squirming around, swinging their branches wildly in the air.

"Nightwing! We're getting out of here!"

"Nope. Boy, you're staying with me."

"I'm... yes. I'm staying with you."

Batman's eyes narrowed and he secured the bindings on the other hero before slinging him over a shoulder.

"Batman! What are you doing? I'm-"

"Shut up! We're getting out of here. I don't want to hear any opinions from you."

"But-"

"Quiet!"

"Please. Don't think it's going to be so easy, Batman. Get 'im, boys!"

The plants started rushing forward, their branches and vines extending out to trap the caped crusader in their clutches. He turned quickly and threw down a smoke bomb and disappeared into the cover. Abruptly, the plants stopped, moving forward more cautiously.

"Well, what are you waiting for? He can't hurt you. Just get him!"

Some of the plants turned back to Poison Ivy, who suddenly had a strange sense that she was in trouble. "Umm... uhh," she started backing away as the plants closed in on her. "Sorry guys. Didn't mean to be so pushy. Take your time." One of the vines extended toward her.

Suddenly, she swatted it away and began running. "Damn it. Looks like this formula didn't work. They're too disobedient. Well, back to the lab. And I didn't even get to try out my new spore formula on everyone else either! Oh well. Gotta get out of here-"

"Not so fast."

Out of the darkness, a weighted rope came flying out at Poison Ivy and swung around her rapidly, tying her arms to her body and her legs together, completely immobilizing her. Batman stepped out after a moment and held out a torch to the advancing plants threateningly, all the while keeping his eyes on the villain on the ground.

"Revert them back to normal."

She glared at him. "If I could, don't you think I would've done that when they turned on me? I _told _you it wasn't a good thing when you broke that pouch."

"Then what can I do to stop them?"

"How should I know? Figure it out-"

Batman punched the ground next to her head, leaving a dent in the floor. "Answers. Now!"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh. The way I designed them, they're like house pets. Just... these ones are an unruly bunch. Think of them like disobedient cats."

"Cats that can crush you in a second if you're not careful."

"Yep. Something like that."

Batman's eyes flashed momentarily as his torch went out. He looked back at Poison Ivy warily, then toward the plants, then back again.

"Stay put. Or else."

"Yeah, yeah."

The dark knight stepped back, holding his hands up, trying to placate the horde of plants. "Easy there. I'm not here to hurt you."

"Pff. Yeah, right. That's what they all say, at least until-"

"Be quiet!"

"Hmph."

Poison Ivy waiting a moment until Batman's attention was focused on the plants again, then she squirmed around a little, trying to untangle herself from the rope. There was a certain trick to getting out of it - she had learned from experience, unfortunately - and all it took was a lot of wiggling, and a fair bit of time, though luckily, her creations seemed like they were doing a good job of keeping the hero busy. Possibly. Maybe-

"What do you think you're-"

"Getting outta here! Have fun with my babies, Batboy." She swung her legs around, tripping Batman as he lunged at her, then ran down the hall, toward the exit.

Toward the front entrance, unfortunately, but she didn't have time to rush past Batman and all of her failed creations to the back, but then again, one always had to take what she could get.

"Freeze, Ivy!"

"Oh, please. Not you again."

Nightwing scowled. "Give it up. You don't have any more of those spores this time."

"Don't I?" Poison Ivy reached for another pouch.

The masked hero drew back instinctively, covering his mouth, but then gave out a shout of pain as she raised her crossbow instead and put a metal bolt in his shoulder.

"Just kidding. Hey, by the way, your partner could probably use a little help. See ya."

Nightwing dropped to the ground, but got up as quickly as he could, trying to pursue her despite the blood flowing freely from his disabled arm. "Get... back here..."

"Make me."

She ran out of the entrance, leaving Nightwing behind in the museum.

* * *

"Hey, Rach. Look. Isn't that... you know, that plant lady?"

"Poison Ivy? Oh, looks like they didn't get her this time."

"You gonna go stop her?"

"Do I look like a superhero to you?"

"Yes," Jennifer said slyly, under her breath, earning her a hard glare. She merely grinned back. "C'mon. Two normal guys against all these crazy freaks. Think they could use some help."

"Right. Then you go stop her."

"No thanks. Not about to get back into _that _business."

"Then what are you complaining about? Batman and Nightwing are pretty competent. Usually."

"Really, Rae? Batman, yeah, I guess so. But _Nightwing_? C'mon, we knew the guy-"

Rachel suddenly put a palm over Jennifer's mouth. "Shush. He's there. See, in the doorway - oh my god. He's hurt!"

She began rushing toward, but a hand on her arm stopped her.

"You can't!" Jennifer spoke in a rushed whisper. "What if he recognizes you?"

"Well..." Rachel looked back, where a bunch of vines had begun to reach out of the building, prompting the people around them to scream and run away.

Nightwing looked up as well and tried to draw a weapon, but he was bleeding too severely and collapsed to the ground instead, gritting his teeth against the pain as the metal bolt went further into his shoulder.

"I'm going," Rachel wrenched her arm free. "Stay out of sight. It'll be more likely for him to recognize us if we're together."

"Damn it, Rae, what if you get hurt too?"

"I don't care."

"But- hey!"

Rachel ran toward the fallen hero, then froze as she stopped near the doorway, staring at the looming figures of all the gigantic, mutated plants in the dim lighting within the museum. She took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm, trying to appear non threatening.

"Guys." _Or girls? Not a botanist, can't tell. Will they even understand if I speak to them? _"We're not going to hurt you."

She took a step forward. The plants moved toward her threateningly, so she stepped back toward Nightwing instead. _Guess I better let Batman handle this. Not my job to deal with these things. _"I'll just take him and go. Okay?"

She took another step back and gently lifted Nightwing from the ground - just enough to begin dragging him away. There was no movement to stop her. Still, she made sure to move slowly and cautiously until they were far away, all the way on the other side of the street, before she turned to him and traced her fingers around the bolt in his shoulder.

"Who... are you..?"

She turned away slightly, hiding her face from him. "A doctor. I happened to be on my lunch break when I saw you. Hold still for a second. Do you happen to carry any bandages with you?"

"In... my belt..."

Rachel nodded and took out a roll of bandages - right in the same slot she remembered they were - and stared at the wound again.

"You were lucky. It only got one of the smaller veins, but even so, you'll bleed to death if we leave this thing in. This will hurt, but I need to take it out and seal the wound."

"I... know."

"Are you ready?"

"Just do it."

She began pulling, slowly at first to get a feel for how the tip was embedded, then more quickly, so that the pain would at least not last long. Nightwing, to his credit, stayed completely silent, though the agony in her own mind told her exactly how much pain he was in. _Curse these stupid powers. I'd better hurry up_.

She put some pressure on the wound, then began wrapping his shoulder as someone approached behind her. She didn't turn, but somehow, both of them knew that she realized that he was there, despite the fact that he had not made any noise.

"How is he?"

"Fine, I suppose. Lucky. It only fractured the bone. It didn't go far enough in to actually break anything. Though, he'll still need more medical attention than this." She stood. "I would have called an ambulance, but I assume you people don't operate that way."

Batman nodded slightly, then held out his hand. "Thank you. Who are you, by the way?"

She shook his hand, all the while keeping him from looking at her face directly - just in case. "I'm a doctor."

"... I see. That makes sense. Well, I won't keep you from your duties, Doctor..."

"Roth." _Damn. I thought I could get out of giving him my name, but it seems like he wants some information. Well, that's okay. He shouldn't be able to find anything based on that alone, unless he really digs into it. But I'm not a criminal, so he probably won't. And even if he does... it's probably okay. _"Yes, you're right. I have to be going. It was nice meeting you, Batman. Good to know you're not just a myth."

Batman's face was inscrutable. "It was nice meeting you too, Miss Roth. And I'm sure we'll meet again."


	2. Do I Know You? Part II

Disclaimer: Teen Titans isn't mine

Leave any suggestions/episode ideas in reviews. If you can convince me, or if you're lucky, it'll happen and I'll give credit for the idea, of course.

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

Light.

Wait, where am I? I thought- the last thing I remember was that doctor, and after that... what happened?

Fuck. Ow, my shoulder. Fucking Ivy. I always forget she has that crossbow. Really have to remember that. Anyway...

Oh, looks like it's the Batcave. So we're back already? Well, I say already but what time is it? Ah, almost four. So I've been out for a couple hours. I guess that's not too horrible, but I really should have been ready for that. Just because she's not hellbent on destroying us like some of the others doesn't mean she's not dangerous.

"How do you feel?"

"Bruce?" Damn. Didn't even sense him at all. Not that I ever could, anyway. "I feel fine. Did you get Ivy?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"What about the plants?"

Is he... smirking? Oh boy. This is going to be good.

"They decided to proceed with the exhibit anyway. Whatever Ivy did to them, it, at the very least, didn't change their appearance. The visitors are told that as long as they don't agitate the plants, nothing bad will happen."

"You're sure? That's risky-"

"No. But it's not my decision. I don't have the right to intrude upon the way the museum operates."

"Fine."

I guess it wasn't a complete disaster, then. But there's still one thing bothering me... that doctor. Who was she? She seemed... I don't know. A bit familiar, I suppose. A little weird. I suppose many of the doctors in this city are a little weird, especially the ones from Arkham, but not that kind of strange. She was... I'm not sure how to put it. Different. How to explain it? I guess I can't. All I can say is, she felt different from most people. Just different.

I wonder if I knew her? Hmm. Now that I think of it, maybe. She was the same height as Raven, right? And she was kind of pale, and- no. No. I thought I was over this. If Rae came back, she'd tell me. Unless she doesn't want to be found... it could have been her. It could've been, but I was too- argh!

"Who was that doctor who helped me? Did you figure anything out about her?"

"Richard, you're just getting your hopes again. It's not her."

"I want to know."

"Fine. Rachel Roth, 25 years old."

"That's how old _she _would be."

"Great. There are plenty of people who are 25. Regardless, she graduated from medical school last year. Took her 6 years to complete the whole college and med school run. Pretty good."

"Rae's really smart-"

"Plenty of smart people in this city too. For the record, her files also say that she lived in Gotham for the first few years of her life, moved to Jump and attended high school there, then came back to Gotham to become a doctor. It doesn't seem like she's your girl."

"Bruce-"

"Richard, we've been over this. You're getting your hopes up."

"I'm not."

"Will you stop obsessing over her? Trust me. I know what it's like. Waiting for someone to come back, thinking, at any moment, it could be her, she could be the one that I'm seeing on the streets, and she's just been avoiding me for whatever the reason... no. Just let it drop."

"You don't know-"

"Really, now."

"Hmph." Yes, I know. He knows exactly what this is like.

Of course he knows, but I still... it's so easy to say, let her go, but for me to actually do it? It's so easy to say, but I just can't. What if it really is her? What if... I don't know. Why wouldn't she tell me? It's not like we left on bad terms. No, we were all pretty close, but especially Rae and me. It's just... the team kind of fell apart when Star had to go back to Tamaran to take the throne. Victor got an offer from the League and Garfield went back to the Doom Patrol... I guess she felt like we were abandoning her, huh. But I even offered her a place here! She was the one who turned me down. I never figured out why. But maybe that's the reason she doesn't want to see me? Or...

"Richard. You have to get your mind together. If it really is her, then she probably has a reason for wanting to avoid you. Or maybe us. And you have to realize people have other reasons to avoid us than being crooks."

"And that is?"

"For someone like her, it might be the fear of being entangled in _this_."

He's pointing to his mask. Rae might be afraid of being a superhero? Or...

"Maybe not that, but being a superhero in _this _city."

"I... guess..."

"If you understand, then that's all I have to say to you. I can see that you won't believe me so easily, but... whatever. Give it time."

"Isn't this the part where you usually try to convince me that you're right and-"

"Yes. But in this case, I know that pushing you that way won't help you. And I thought we talked about this. You're a grown man now. Still my son, but I suppose you've matured enough to make some of your own decisions."

"I'm glad."

"_Some_."

"Still better than before." A lot better.

I remember when we used to fight about every little thing. I wanted independence, he wanted control. In hindsight, it was all so stupid. We could have just sucked up our pride and worked together better; it would have solved so many problems. Less getting injured, stopping the Joker, Two Face, or all of those guys faster... I wouldn't have left. But then I wouldn't have met my friends...

Speaking of which, I should probably catch up with Victor or Gar sometime. I guess I've just been so obsessed about her that it didn't occur to me to talk to them. But, later's better than never.

And I still don't trust Bruce about that. Maybe I can pay a visit to 'Doctor Roth' and see if- no. No, I shouldn't. But I have to. I have to, or I'll never know...

"Hey, Bruce."

"No."

"But-"

"Whatever it is you want to do, it'll wait until Alfred says you can move freely."

"You don't even know what I was about to say!"

"I know you well enough to know that you wanted to do something. Something involving getting out of this house."

Damn Bruce. Damn it all. "Fine."

* * *

Rachel dodged a punch and ducked under a second. A third came flying at her face, but she blocked it with her wrist and countered, sweeping her opponent's feet out with a single, swift movement. But it was not enough, and a pair of legs gripped her own and tugged her down as well. She landed on her elbows, trying to recover, but found that she could not turn without twisting her body at some improbable angle. One of her opponent's legs slid out from beneath her and she used the opportunity to turn, but was instantly met with a hand at her throat and another pressing down on her stomach.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay. You win this round."

Jennifer grinned and stood, offering her friend a hand. Rachel merely shook her head and shifted into a sitting position, massaging her shoulder. "Let's take a break, okay? You already won the last two."

"Aww, tired already?"

"No. Just sore."

"Haha, okay. But you know, you've gotten a lot better at this. When you first started-"

"Yes, I know. You handed my ass to me. That was only a month ago. I haven't forgotten."

"And now you can beat me! Sometimes. You're doin' good, Rachie."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Rachel sighed, then looked up. "Hold on. Someone's coming."

"Really? Who? Oh, her."

Rachel frowned. _Barbara Gordon. What does she want with us? Unless... Batman knows who I am from our little exchange? Did I miscalculate? Was he really that paranoid?_

_... no. Judging by her emotions, it's nothing like that. She's just here on her own. Phew. Okay._

"Hey girls, mind if I join you?"

Jennifer glanced at Rachel, who nodded. "Sure. But what would the commissioner's daughter want with us?"

"Just need someone to spar with. My usual partner isn't here today. He got hurt."

Rachel blushed slightly, but said nothing. The other girl looked at her momentarily again before grinning.

"Alright, looks like you get to take me first. You ready?"

"Sure."

Rachel moved back and watched as Jennifer and Barbara circled each other warily, waiting for the other one to make the first move. As she expected, eventually, Jennifer grew impatient and stepped forward with a kick aimed at her opponent's midsection. It was dodged easily and the counter came, a sweep down aimed at the ankles. The former thief cartwheeled back, then darted to one side, dodging a couple punches, before striking back.

She grazed Barbara's arm, but otherwise missed and was forced to dodge a flurry of blows, trying to find an opportunity to counterattack. Her eyes darted around quickly and eventually she noticed a slight opening and jumped on the opportunity swiftly. A hit to one of Barbara's elbows shocked the other girl's arm momentarily and she blocked the next attack with her wrist, forcing the redhead to step back, breaking her stance.

Jennifer stepped forward and swept her opponent's feet out from underneath her, but then yelped in pain as a kick to her shin stunned her momentarily as well. A blow to her solar plexus left her seeing spots, and then another one aimed at her shoulder sent pain shooting down her arm. But she managed to dodge the next hit and hit the back of Barbara's knee, causing the girl to lose her balance. They traded blows again, but with a weak stance, the redhead's hits did not make any lasting impressions, and she found herself on the floor again. This time, Jennifer didn't let up the pressure and a few well blocked punches later, Barbara found herself in the same position Rachel had been in a few minutes earlier, with a hand at her throat and another on her stomach.

Rachel raised an eyebrow, smirking very slightly, as she noticed the somewhat shocked expression on Barbara's face. _I suppose she has a reason to be. It's not everyday that a 'civilian' is good enough to beat Batgirl in a fistfight. Granted, she doesn't have any of her gadgets, but still, I'm impressed. I didn't think Jennifer would be that good. Though, she used to fight on par with Robin, so there's that._

"Good fight," Jennifer breathed out heavily and sat back, wiping the sweat from her brow. "You're damn good."

"Of course," Barbara smiled. "Comes with being a police commissioner's daughter. It's only natural that I get a bunch of training in this kind of stuff. I'm actually kind of surprised that you beat me."

"Barely," Jennifer let out a low breath.

"Still good. Almost makes me want to ask you to come be a police officer."

A short laugh was the response. "That's funny. Being a police officer isn't all about fightin', is it? Gotta have other things that make you competent."

"True, though mostly my dad worries about corruption nowadays. But, you don't seem like that type to me."

Rachel and Jennifer exchanged a look, then both smiled.

"Well, I'm flattered. But I've already got a job that takes quite some time. And I've gotta take care of this babe over here. So, unfortunately, I can't."

"Haha, that's fine. I was kind of joking anyway." Barbara paused, turning her attention to Rachel. "So, are you two dating?"

Jennifer's smile broadened as Rachel's face turned crimson. "Well, that's-"

"That's so cool! Yeah, I know, the official policy is against same sex relationships, but-"

"Well, we're not-"

"Not _officially,"_ Jennifer interjected. "But we're *cough* good friends."

"Well, you know, it takes a woman to know a woman." Barbara blushed slightly. "Men never know where the right spots are."

Rachel's face was an odd mixture of amusement and embarrassment. _She's talking about Richard, isn't she? Figures he'd be that type. I bet he tries, he just doesn't get it. Of course, there are other reasons for being in a relationship._

"So, what about you? You want to go a round?"

Rachel blinked a couple times before holding up her hands. "I... don't think I'll be quite as good-"

"That's totally fine! We're all just learning here."

"Well..." Rachel sighed. "I guess I don't mind getting my ass kicked by someone new."

Jennifer grinned. "That's the spirit. Now go get 'er, babe."

* * *

_Night _

Two figures walked down the street, apparently looking for a place to eat. One of them stopped in front of a newly built bar with a flashing sign labeled "Serendipity" above it and began dragging the other one in.

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that, Bruce. We're not _that _old."

"Too old for a place like this, Zee. This is one of the places where the kids hang out."

"Relax. I've heard lots of good things about it. The food's good, the atmosphere's nice, and the owner always keeps everything under control."

"Seems pretty high end. Might be a little pricey."

"Funny, coming from you. Any other arguments."

Bruce Wayne heaved a sigh. "No. Whatever. Let's go."

They walked in and went past a short corridor, down a flight of stairs toward another dimly lit hall, where someone was waiting by the entrance to the bar.

"Sir. Madame. Would you like to be seated at the restaurant or the bar?"

"The bar, please."

"Very well. You may sit wherever you like, and you shall be served shortly."

"Thank you."

They entered the room and looked around, admiring the mosaics on the walls. Not just the walls, but the whole room was a mass of dusky color, muted and dim, almost black because it was woven together so intricately in the air. The ceiling seemed to be composed of several different styles, from the industrial beams and open bolts, to sleek, modern metal, and even to plain brick, but curiously, it melded well together. In the background, soft music could be heard over the chatter, although it was difficult to determine exactly what it was - perhaps jazz, which was common in these types of places, but not quite that alone.

They moved over to the bar counter, where the lighting was a little brighter, and a large man was busy serving several people.

"Jenny! Give me a hand here!"

"Hold on, Baran. Can't you see that I'm busy?"

Both of them turned toward the voice. At one nearby tables, a violet haired girl was sitting across from a shorter, black haired one, who looked up as she caught them staring. Recognition flitted through Bruce Wayne - she was that doctor, who had helped Nightwing - but he wasn't supposed to recognize her, so he merely looked away and took a seat at the counter, looking over the menus that had been placed in front of him.

"You were looking at her." Zatanna said softly. "Recognize her?"

"Just someone who helped us yesterday."

"Ah, I see. Poor Richie. He was supposed to come eat with us today. You didn't let him come?"

"_Alfred _didn't."

Zatanna laughed softly. "No worries, I wasn't judging. Anyway... Bruce, there's something strange about that doctor."

"Really?"

"Yes. Something's odd about her aura. It's different."

_So maybe Richard was right. _"Do you recognize it? I have a hunch as to who she might be."

"Oh? And that is?"

"Well, not my hunch exactly. But Richard seems to think that she's his old teammate. You remember. That half-demon girl, Raven."

Zatanna smiled very slightly. "I do remember. No, I don't think it's her. I don't sense anything remotely demonic from her. Although, it's possible that once she defeated her father, her aura changed too. I'd have to get a closer look to make sure, but..."

"But?"

"Nah. Invasion of privacy isn't my thing."

"What if she's a threat."

"Doesn't seem like it. She could just be a normal doctor. With a weird aura." Zatanna put a finger to her lips thoughtfully. "Though, probably not."

"Besides, I thought you wouldn't have minded 'having a closer look' if it really were Raven. If she's a threat-"

"Not really. When she first came to us, looking for help against her father, I overreacted. I figured she was just a trick, or some ploy to destroy us so Trigon could more easily defeat us later. I was wrong, I admit it. In any case, it doesn't seem like it's her."

"Richard will be disappointed."

Zatanna shrugged. "I guess I never really knew her, but I don't see why he was so obsessed with her."

"Still is."

"That bad, huh. But yes, I thought he liked redheads. That Starfire girl-"

"You probably couldn't understand."

"True. I'm not a man."

Bruce laughed and looked up as the violet haired girl from earlier - Jennifer - approached them.

"Hi. Ready to order yet?"

They exchanged a look. "Umm, maybe just a few more minutes. Maybe we can get started with a couple of drinks?"

"Sure. What'cha have in mind?"

"Whatever the house specialty is. And he'll have one too." Zatanna smirked as Bruce turned toward her. "Don't look at me like that. You have to lighten up. Try some new things."

A sigh was her only response.

* * *

Rachel leaned back slightly and frowned. _Batman, huh. And... Zatanna. Definitely want to stay clear of her. It really seems like they don't know who I am, though, so it's probably fine. But, just to be on the safe side..._

"Hey, Jenny."

"What's up?" The other girl appeared from a doorway, bearing a couple of drinks with her.

"I'm going to head out now."

"What? But- but- you were supposed to come home with me tonight!"

Rachel sighed. "But I already stayed last night. And I didn't get much sleep, mind you."

"Awh, Rae. But we had so much fun-"

Rachel blushed and looked away. "I'm going home. It's only a night. You won't miss me. Besides, it's not like I'm your girlfriend or anything."

"Oh, really."

"Yes really."

Jennifer grinned. "I'll pin you down some day. But, fine. Have it your way. Hmph. Leaving me to deal with these two alone."

"These two? Mikron and Baran?"

"No, _them."_

"Oh. It's not like they recognize you, so what's the big deal?"

"You never know. 'night, Rae."

"Good night."

Rachel offered her friend a small smile before stepping away. She glanced briefly at the two superheroes sitting at the bar as she passed by, then left noiselessly.

* * *

Sorry, Alfred, but I'm had to be disobedient for once. I want to know- no, I need to know if it's her. I just have to. It's not that I don't feel guilty - strike that. I really don't. I have to figure out if it's her, and I'm going to. Now, I just need to find her. Alright. I guess the first place to check is the hospital.

Wait a sec. There's someone walking out of that bar, and it looks like... is that her? I... think so. Yes, it should be.

What do I do? Should I go and talk to her? No, no, that would be strange. Would it? I'm in costume. She should recognize me. I should be able to... it wouldn't be that weird, right? Maybe I'll just watch her for a while. Hmm.

She's walking home alone? Doesn't she know that it's dangerous around here? She could get mugged! Strike that. She's going to get mugged. A young, petite woman... Rae or not, she's going to be a juicy target for gang members at the very least. I'll need to look after her, then. Unless... unless it really is her. Maybe I can confirm it. Maybe... no. That would be bad. I shouldn't. If she really is just a civilian, then I'll be putting her life at risk. I'll just make sure she gets home safely, then maybe talk to her there. Yeah. Okay.

Weird. She doesn't seem nervous. Usually, at this time of night, you have to be careful while walking alone. Even I'm not that calm, hell, even Bruce isn't. Even if you're stronger, someone could easily sneak up - well, then again. You can't sneak up on Raven. Learned that a long time ago. But then again, if it really is Rae, she would've noticed me by now, right? Maybe I really am getting worked up over nothing. Maybe Bruce was right.

Anyway, it seems like she's at her apartment. Should I go talk to her or... fuck it. I have to at least try. I didn't sneak out for nothing.

"You can come out now. I know you've been tailing me."

What? She noticed me? That's impossible. That's impossible, unless-

"Rae..?"

"Rachel Roth. _Doctor _Rachel Roth to you, Nightwing. Shouldn't you be in bed, letting that wound of yours heal?"

Is it her, or is it not? Hmm. If I could just get a good look at her face... "Right. Well, I was just out on patrol, and I noticed you were walking home alone, so I wanted to make sure nothing happened. And thanks for the help yesterday, by the way. Apparently you did a good job with my injury."

"You're welcome. And thank you for looking out for me."

"Yeah, no problem. Hey, uhh... can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"I just..." how can I put this? I want to get a better look at her, but I can't sound creepy either. "You remind me of someone I once knew."

She's turning toward me. It's dark, but I can see her face. Is it... is it her? Hmmm...

"Your point?"

She _does _resemble Raven. But her eyes aren't violet, and her face is a little... I don't know. Not just more mature, but it's a little different. A little thinner, I guess, but not in an unhealthy way. She does look like Raven, but I can't tell from just that. I can't be sure.

"I just... I feel like I know you. Do I know you?"

"How should I know? Despite the fact that I am also a psychiatrist, I cannot just look inside your mind, Mr. Nightwing. Now, if you don't mind..."

"Of course. My apologies."

Damn it.

* * *

Behind the door, Rachel Roth let out a long, low breath and slumped to the floor, rubbing her temples.

_Damn it indeed. Damn it, Richard. Just stay out of my life. I don't want anything to do with that anymore. Just leave me alone._

* * *

A/N: This concludes the first "episode" in this story. The next one is where things will really begin to get interesting.


	3. Everyone Hates Me Part I

Disclaimer: Nothing from Teen Titans is mine

Done with finals, going to update more c:

* * *

"Good luck with the new patient, Rachel."

The dark haired doctor turned as one of the nurses gave her a sympathetic look. She raised an eyebrow, wondering what that could have meant, then grew more puzzled by the moment as she saw the look mirrored on other faces as well. The receptionist, several other nurses, even from her own colleagues. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Alright, guys. It can't possibly be that bad. I've treated plenty of psychos before. Hell, I've even dealt with Harvey Dent."

"Yeah, but this guy..."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Okay. I'll take your word for it. If I don't come out..." she began walking down the hall toward the stairs.

"We'll know what happened," another doctor approached her, a tall, rather lanky looking man who was probably twice her age. "Isn't that what you were about to say?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth," she muttered back. "Now, I don't have time for you to flirt with me today, John."

"Rachel, that's not-"

"Hmph." She turned away. "You and I both know that you have a thing for me. But you have to understand-"

"You like girls. Yeah."

The dark haired girl blushed faintly. "That's-"

He grinned. "Don't even try to deny it. Listen, I'm actually not trying to hit on you. You're still relatively new around here, so I'm trying to look out for you-"

"Yeah, right."

"Aww, Rachel. You don't need to be like that. We're all worried. Dealing with these crazy people can't be good for you."

"Tell me about it. But seriously, is this guy that bad? Everyone looked so... I don't know. Scared?"

"He's worse than the others. Even Dent."

"Really. Alright. Let me guess. It's the Joker?"

Her companion snorted. "Nah. He's still locked up. And besides, I think they've given up on him. This guy, though, he's not one of the usual ones you see around here."

Rachel sighed. "Want to just tell me who he is?"

"Have a look."

She looked inside. A grizzled, white haired man with an eyepatch stared back at her. She smiled at him nervously, then ducked out.

"God damn it..."

* * *

"You have got to be shitting me," she swore under her breath. "_Slade Wilson_? They want me to treat Slade Wilson? Who do they think I am? The manager of Arkham? This is a god damn hospital, not a psychiatric ward. We shouldn't even have people like this here! Why in the world would they ask me to take a look at him?"

"Rachel, calm down."

"This is completely unreasonable. Seriously..."

"Rachel, you need to stop stressing."

"Don't tell me what I need to do," she snapped at him.

_You have no idea how many nightmares this guy gave me. You have no idea what he put me through. What he put all of us through. And they want me to try to rehabilitate him as an upstanding member of society? Get real. This guy is messed up. They have no idea how messed up he is. They don't know that I can't do anything. They don't... Azar, why? Why did it have to be him?_

"Rachel? Rachel, you there?"

She took a deep breath. "Sorry, zoned out. You're right. I have to do my job." She closed her eyes. _That's right. I'm not supposed to know Slade..._

"No need to sound so upset. Here, why don't we go out after this and-"

"It's okay. Excuse me," she rubbed her temples. "Let me just get this over with."

"Alright. Take care of yourself. Don't stress too much."

She nodded and offered him a brief smile before stepping back into the room.

* * *

Rachel took a deep breath as she closed the door behind her. "Sorry about that. Well then, Mr. Wilson," she hesitated slightly as she spoke his name. "Why don't you have a seat over there." She paused as he didn't move. "Please."

"... certainly." He kept his one visible eye on her as he sat on the chair directly across from her. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

"I would imagine not. This is your first visit at this hospital, correct?"

"Indeed, it is."

"Then we couldn't possibly have met before. If you like, you may lie down on the couch."

"No, this is fine, thank you."

Rachel turned away for a moment and opened a folder, glancing over the papers inside. "So I understand that Batman brought you in yesterday. No, forgive me. You went with him willingly."

"That is correct. I did not intend to fight him."

"Might I ask why?"

He frowned and looked at her intently. In that moment, she noticed several things she hadn't noticed before. One, he was old. Not just in the sense that he was probably twice her age, but in the sense that he had seen a lot. A _lot_. He had suffered a fair deal, that much was evident. But how much of that had been hidden behind that cold, sociopathic mask that she had only ever seen him wear?

His hair was short; given his usual choice of armor, it made sense. He had many scars - he had seen a lot of fighting. Also made sense. He had a small goatee, something she wouldn't quite have expected, but then again, had she ever wondered what he had looked like behind the mask? Had he ever been anything besides that mask to her?

A few months ago, he had been caught and his face had been all over the news. Back when she was still in medical school and hadn't had the time to really care about such things, but now it was truly beginning to sink in. There _was _a man behind the mask, and he was human after all. Was he?

"Excuse me," she said softly. "You do not have to answer any question you think is inappropriate."

"No, I was merely wondering about that myself. I'm sure you know about who I am." He looked at her meaningfully.

"A little bit," she replied cautiously. "I've heard about you, but I'm afraid I don't know much. The training and this job have kept me busy for a long time."

"I see." He relaxed a little. "Let me tell you a story."

She nodded. _Typical Slade. Even though I'm supposed to be the one dictating, he just goes right ahead and takes control whenever he feels like it. But, in this case, that's fine._

"How much do you know about superheroes?"

"Not very much either. Just that they protect us when we need it."

"Have you heard anything about the Teen Titans from Jump City?"

She paled very slightly, but since she was fairly pale already, he didn't notice under the lighting. Did he?

"I've heard about them. But weren't they just a bunch of kids?"

"Yes, well... I had a very run ins with them. Minor things; they were never really a threat to me. Most of them, anyway. But there was one among them... one of them was a little different."

"Hmm... Batman's sidekick, I'm guessing. Robin?"

"No, no, not him. It was the sorceress on the team. Raven."

Rachel frowned. "I'm afraid I don't seem to recall-"

"She tended to stay out of the limelight. It's only natural that people wouldn't think about her much. Just the way she wanted. But, you see, she was very interesting. We fought several times, and as it turns out, she was a half demon. And not just any half demon. Her father was a demon lord. One powerful enough to take over this whole world by himself."

"Interesting. So I'm guessing you teamed up with her to stop him."

"Something to that effect. I don't suppose you would understand, but for someone like me, doing something like that... teaming up with a bunch of heroes - no, just kids, to try to save the world..." he closed his eye and his brows furrowed just slightly. "It's an odd feeling. I cannot really explain it better than that."

Rachel grimaced. _Is he talking about me because he thinks it's me, or is he really trying to express something here? It's hard to say. I guess I could use my powers, but- no. I told myself I wouldn't. Other peoples' emotions, a sense of their energies, I can't really turn those off, but I told myself I would never use my more active powers again._

"And do you know why they brought you here, Mr. Wilson?"

"I would imagine that I am to be 'fixed', so to speak. If by they, you mean the city."

"No, actually the city would rather throw you in Arkham. It was actually Batman's suggestion that you be brought here quietly, without most of the police or the city knowing. Just the hospital management, and I suppose everyone who saw you come in."

"And why would he do something like that?"

"I don't know. You see, I have this rather cryptic note left for me that simply says, 'find out as much as you can'."

"They think I'm plotting something?" he looked up darkly. "Do you think I'm plotting something?"

"I don't know. But, I want one thing to be clear before we proceed. At this stage, Mr. Wilson, this is not an interrogation. I'm a psychiatrist and a doctor, not an investigator. I just want to know why you might have done some of the things you did, and what makes you, for lack of a better phrase, disobey the law. Why do you enjoy doing what you do?"

"Doing what I do." His voice remained as steady as every, but she sensed a hint of mirth creep into it. "And what would that be? Clearly, you don't know-"

"Being an assassin for hire. Destroying municipal property and harming people with, apparently, no goal in mind. Plenty of accounts of assault. You've even been convicted of rape!"

He looked at her sharply. "I never raped her."

"Who?"

"Raven, correct? That's what your sheet says. Well, I never did it. Believe me."

_What he did... _she bit her lip. _It might as well have been. True, it was my father behind it, but what he did to me atop that tower, burning those marks into my skin... regardless, I never pressed charges. What would've been the point? Not like anyone could catch him anyway, and it didn't seem that important compared to the other stuff he did. So I guess Robin filed that. _

"I... in the end it's not that important of a detail. I'd like to know why you engage in those other activities, though."

"I'd like to know what's wrong with them. I enjoy doing what I do."

"Do you?" she stared at him for a moment, then her empathy kicked in and she realized he was lying. He did not enjoy any of it at all. "It doesn't seem like it."

Slade sat up straighter, frowning. "You're good. Nobody's been able to read me that easily before."

_Shit, is he suspicious again? _"Well, there's a reason they make me the primary contact for these types of cases. Regardless, I would like to know, if you're willing to tell me. If you don't enjoy being a villain, for lack of a better word, why do it? Why not just live peacefully with the rest of society?"

"And where's the fun in that?" he retorted. "Life becomes boring. There's no thrill. There's no action. Every day, everyone does the same things, and there's nothing that changes it. Tell me, doctor, don't you ever feel that way? Don't you ever feel bored with your life?"

Her lips curved up slightly. "I'm usually too busy to bother with those thoughts. And even if I were, there are plenty of things that aren't so monotonous around here. But, I see where you're coming from. Still, if that's what you seek, why not look for something else? There are plenty of adventurous people who find ways to make their lives fun and interesting without having to resort to killing and violence."

"Are you accusing me-"

"No, no," she said hastily. "I'm not playing the judge here, or anything like that. I just want to know why. That's the first step for me to begin helping you." _Not that I want to, but... it's that, or sending him off to Arkham, where he could probably just escape and start terrorizing everyone else again. _

"Nobody wants to help me," Slade muttered. "Who would want to help someone like me? Everyone hates me. And rightly so."

"You don't... you actually mean it, don't you? You actually believe that?"

His face was as impassive as ever. "Of course I mean it. Isn't it obvious? I'm just a threat to most people. Normal people, superheroes, all of them alike. And in case you're not aware, we 'supervillain' people don't exactly get along very well either. One gets used to being hated. One eventually learns to thrive in it."

She shook her head incredulously. "You can't possibly believe that..."

"It's the truth. That's just how it is."

"But surely you must have had _some _friends in the past. You can't have been like this forever."

"I..." he hesitated, and she sensed that suddenly, he was a little more open. A little more willing to talk.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," she pressed forward. "But I think it would be healthy for you to tell me."

"About?"

"About yourself. What you've been through. How you ended up... like this."

He looked up at the ceiling. "That folder should have most of those details-"

"It's different, coming from the source."

He sighed, then strangely, looked away from her. "Fine. You win. I'll tell you."

There was a long silence as she waited for him to collect his thoughts, but eventually, he began.

"I... was always the troubled kid. Obviously. I could never sit still. I always needed action. That was why I enlisted in the army at sixteen, even with the war going on in Vietnam. Knowing that I could be sent there, but actually, because I wanted to be sent there. I needed something, something to break the boredom of my life. I figured if that couldn't do it, then nothing could.

It wasn't just that either. I was proud. I wanted to serve my country, too. I wanted to protect my people, and the people I cared about back home. The people who cared about me. In other words, I was a foolish, naive boy, but that was how it was. Still, it was that foolishness and my prodigious fighting skill that drew attention to me. One of my captains, who was supposed to train me, ended up falling in love with me and we got married. So there's that love nonsense you were talking about. Yes, it wasn't always like this.

So the question obviously is, where did it go wrong? My wife had a kid. It didn't go wrong there. We had a home, I was sent off back to war, even then it was all fine. No, what happened was I signed up for an experiment - it was some sort of thing that was supposed to make me into a super soldier, or something to that effect - but it didn't go well and I fell into a coma for several months. When I woke up, I found out that the I had been de-enlisted and when I tried to get back into the army, they refused me."

Slade's voice grew darker. "I didn't understand how they could do that to me," he growled. "I had given my whole life to them, and it was their damned experiment that put me into that coma. And it wasn't like I was crippled once I came out - no, if anything, I was stronger. I _had _become the soldier they wanted me to become. More than that, more than what they had expected. No, looking back, they were scared of me. Scared of what I was capable of doing, but in my head, all I could think about was how I had been betrayed. How I had loyally served my country and how it had thrown me out, like some old dog, like some used rag. _That_ was when it began."

"Your mercenary work?"

"Correct. I didn't let my wife know. I couldn't - there was no way she would have approved. No normal person would have. But I needed it. I needed something to let out the rage, just... something! I found a disguise as a hunter - I became famous that way, but that wasn't what I truly sought. In truth, the assassin's work wasn't enough either, but it was at least something. It was something to keep me occupied. Something to distract me from that betrayal...

Regardless, it came back to bite me in the end. Rivals in that business will do anything to get an edge, and one of them kidnapped my youngest son to try to get some information from me. At that point, I couldn't hide it from my wife anymore. When she found out...

No, even then it might have been okay. Even then... well, as it turns out, when we went to get my son back, I made a miscalculation and didn't act fast enough. My son had his throat slashed before I could get rid of my enemies, and that was the end of the line."

Slade fingered his eyepatch. "My wife... she blamed me for it. She said it as all my fault - that my restlessness had cost us our peaceful lives, and had almost gotten my son killed. She was angry - she was so angry, enough to try to kill me for it."

Rachel's eyes widened. "But you weren't ready to die yet. So you defended yourself. But you lost your eye."

"And my wife. And my eldest two children. By my own hands, no less, when they tried to fight me too."

The dark haired girl shook her head. "So that's how it happened."

"Yes. Good enough for you? Good."

"That's..." She cleared her throat lightly. "Listen, Mr. Wilson. I think I understand a bit better now. It wasn't necessarily the need for action that began all of this. It was that you thought you were being betrayed. You gave everything for your country and your people, but they gave nothing back. And then when you tried to protect your family, they ended up blaming you and hating you. Even though it wasn't really your fault that your son got-"

"Oh, it was my fault. It definitely was."

"But you felt that it was undeserved?"

"Isn't it always. Life isn't fair. So they say."

"It was because you felt like nobody cared... so if nobody cared anyway, why bother trying to fit in with normal people, correct?"

"Something like that. One does not think about these things so precisely. But essentially, yes. Why bother obeying the law and all that garbage, when it only bought me misery?"

Rachel shook her head again. "Mr. Wilson, I have to point out that it was your other activities, the mercenary work, that landed you in that situation."

"It was the only way I could feel anywhere close to satisfied!" He hissed at her. "All that time I had spent fighting, learning how to be a good soldier, an assassin, how to properly execute missions, I couldn't just throw it all away. It had to go somewhere!"

"But didn't you think that maybe it was what caused your problems after-"

"Oh, I knew it was the source of the problem. I knew it would be a problem, especially after my son got kidnapped. And I knew it was the problem for sure, after my wife shot my eye out."

"Then why..."

"Why keep doing it? Why keep up with all the assassin's work even after I lost my family because of it? You should know the answer to that, doctor."

_Because it was the only thing he knew how to do. Because he felt that life had shown him that no matter what he did, everyone would hate him anyway, so he was stuck doing the only thing he had left. Wow. I actually feel... kind of bad for him._

"I understand," she said softly. "Thank you for sharing. I have been told that you aren't someone who talks easily, so this is quite the pleasant surprise-"

"It is indeed," he muttered under his breath. "I did not think I would tell you so much either. There is something different about you, doctor." He eyed her warily again. "I still think you seem familiar."

"Does it trouble you?"

He thought about it for a moment, then sat back. "No, it doesn't. I don't particularly care one way or another. I'm probably not going to see you again after today, so it doesn't make a difference."

"Oh, really? Because right now you're scheduled for another appointment in three days."

"Yes, I'm sure I am."

"Mr. Wilson..."

"Relax, doctor. I'm not going to try anything funny. I already let myself get captured willingly, didn't I?"

_Is he lying? I can't tell. If he's actually going to try something... if he's going to murder more people, I have to let the police know. I can't let him leave. I-_

"Or would you rather just throw me in Arkham. That can be arranged as well. I'm sure that's what they city wants to do anyway."

"No, it's just, it's just... I'm actually trying to help you. It would be a wasted effort if you were to just revert to your old ways. I'd like to make some progress, and hearing you talk like that is just..."

He snorted. "Don't bother. I'm a hopeless case. In the end, everyone hates me, and that doesn't change. And I don't change. Now, I believe my appointment is over."

"Mr. Wilson-"

"I am finished talking for the day anyway. I am sure you have other important matters to attend to."

"No, it's just-"

"I will see you in three days time, if I haven't been thrown in Arkham already. Good day."

He left and shut the door in her face as she tried to follow him.

* * *

*knock knock*

"Rachel? Rachel, are you there?"

Silence.

*bang bang bang*

"Rachel, I know you're inside. Answer me, you stupid asshole!"

The dark haired girl ignored the yelling and curled up on her bed, closing her eyes.

"Fine. Have it your way."

Her eyes snapped open as she heard the door open, then slam shut.

"Damn it, Jenny," she muttered under her breath, just in time for her bedroom door to fly open and an angry, blonde haired girl to come charging in.

"Where were you? You were supposed to stop by today. We were going to-"

"You dyed your hair again."

"Yeah, I did, thanks. But seriously! You could've at least called! You could've-"

"Jenny," Rachel said softly. "Can you please not yell? And can you close the door and turn off the lights? My head hurts."

"Rrrghh," the other girl growled, but did as she asked and sat on the bed beside her friend, stroking the long, dark strands of silken hair. "So what happened? I'm guessing you had a horrible day at work."

"Mmmm."

"You in any mood to talk about it?"

Rachel sighed. "I had a new patient today. Tough one."

"Wonderful. Someone worse than good ol' Two-Face?"

"Way worse. Million times worse."

"Oh, that bad, huh. Lemme guess. Joker?"

"No. Slade."

Jennifer's hand tightened in Rachel's hair, causing her to wince at the sudden pain. "Slade?!"

"Yeah. You mind not trying to tear my scalp off?"

"Oh, sorry. But Slade! Are you for real?"

"No, I'm for fake."

Jennifer glared at her friend briefly, but then her look softened. She put a hand on Rachel's back and ran a finger down the girl's spin through her shirt, then began massaging her neck, trying to work out the tension in the muscles there.

"Must've been rough. He didn't recognize you?"

"I hope not..."

"Jeez. What'd you guys even talk about? Did you even get anything out of him?"

"Just his whole life story."

"You what?"

"Yup. Pretty surprising. Thought it'd take at least a couple sessions for me to get that far, but he seemed different. Less, you know, Slade-y."

"Shit, and... wow, wanna tell me-"

"No, that's confidential."

"Aww. But you know I won't tell anyone!"

"Yeah, I know. It's just an excuse for me to not tell you right now."

"Hmph. Fine. So, what. Guess something screwed up happened to him, and now he's hellbent on like, destroying things. Or something like that."

"Basically."

Jennifer let out a low breath, then laid back as well, wrapping her arms around Rachel's waist. "They really don't give you a break, huh."

"Tell me about it. And just think, Slade isn't even my worst nightmare. He's Nightwing's."

"Pff. Who cares about Nightwing anyway?"

"Well... I mean, just because I don't want to see him doesn't mean I don't care at all."

"Okay, okay. Sure. But let him obsess all he wants. Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't really. I don't think Nightwing even knows about Slade yet. Batman was the one to bring him in."

"Great. So worry about yourself."

Rachel turned and smirked slightly. "I am. Why do you think I just came home instead of stopping by? Because I felt like being an asshole today."

"You're so-" Jennifer grinned. "Oh well. Can't blame ya. So I guess that means no fun today either?"

"Oh god... can't it wait for tomorrow morning?"

"Fine, fine. But you know, I always have to wonder... all these crazy guys they send ya. Is it okay for you to just let them run around without anyone watching 'em?"

"What do you mean? You think they should just be locked up?"

"I mean, you've got no idea if they're just gonna like, you know, leave the hospital and just start killin' people the instant they get out."

"Well, I don't know if that'll happen or not. Generally speaking, I don't deal with murderers and the like - just mentally unstable people who haven't really committed crimes. That's why I thought Slade should have been sent to Arkham. But supposedly, Batman wanted me to have a look at him."

"Why you?"

"Who knows? Doesn't matter. Did my job. Can't ask for more than that."

"I guess not." Jennifer sighed, sitting up again. "Slade just creeps me out, you know."

"Yeah, he creeps me out too."

"But not just in the usual way. Like, you used to creep me out, but in a kinda cool way. He was just... ugh. Freaky. I feel like... I dunno, Rae. It feels weird, knowing that he's here, walkin' free like he used to. He could be doin' anything."

"I'm sure he could be."

"Don't you think so? I mean, there's already been a couple weird murder reports in the evening paper. Somethin' about a general's whole family bein' killed, but for some reason the guy left the general himself alive. Weird, huh."

"Mmm... wait." Rachel's eyes snapped open. "Repeat what you just said."

"What? Umm, sure. Some guy killed a general's family, but let the general live. I just thought it was strange, 'cause usually you'd wanna go after the important dude instead of his family-"

Rachel groaned. "You have got to be joking."

"Why? What's wrong. You don't think it's-"

The dark haired girl got up and threw on a coat, but as she tried to leave her room, a hand caught her wrist.

"Where do you think you're goin'?"

"It's him. At least, there's a very good chance it is. I have to get in contact with Batman."

"Or you could just call the police and-"'

"No. At least for now, it's better this way. Jenny-"

"Rae. It's fuckin' midnight already! Who knows what kind of creeps are out there at this hour. You could get mugged, or some shit like that! You can't just-"

"Yeah, and you could've gotten mugged while you came here. But you didn't."

"But-"

"Besides, even if I do, it'll draw his attention. Which is something I want, in this case."

"Then I'm going with you."

"Nope. You're staying here. Or going home."

"The hell I am-"

"Jenny, if he sees us together, there'll be a larger chance that he'll put two and two together and recognize us."

" 'Kay, great. Gettin' recognized versus you getting hurt. I'll take the first option any day."

"But I won't. Relax, I'm not going to get hurt. Jenny-"

"I'm not just gonna sit here while you go out there!"

"Jenny, please..." Rachel pouted slightly, giving her best pleading look to the other girl.

"The hell, like that's gonna work on me. Like I said, you're not goin' alone. At least let me follow you. He doesn't have to see me. Okay? I just want to make sure you get to wherever you need to go safely."

"The police station. And, okay. Fine. But I don't think I'll need you to watch out for me on the way back, at least. I can get Batman to do that."

"Why're you so eager to get rid of me?"

Rachel smiled slightly. "Because this is my problem and I want to keep you out of it. And I'm not going to keep you up if I don't have to."

"And if I wanna stay up stalkin' you?"

"Then that's just plain creepy."

Jennifer grinned. "You won't get rid of me that easy. Now, you just gonna stand there, or are we going to go?"

* * *

A/N: Sorry, this chapter may have been not as good, but I really wanted to get something out. Might rewrite later.


	4. Everyone Hates Me Part II

Disclaimer: Nothing from Teen Titans is mine.

Could be better, but I sort of want to finish this episode and move onto the next one and my other stories. If I have time, I'll come back to this chapter and make it not suck so much.

"Speech"

_Thoughts _

* * *

_Tap tap tap. _

She paused for a moment, then continued on.

_Tap. Tap._

And again, she stopped momentarily, looking around.

_Someone besides Jinx is following me. But whoever it is, he or she isn't doing a good job. Is it intentional, maybe? I don't sense anyone besides Jinx, though, so whoever it is, it has to be someone who is very good at suppressing his own emotions. Or hers. Hmm. Man or woman? Though, not like it'll help me figure out who it is._

She continued forward. _I could always try to use my powers to figure it out, but... _she shook her head. _No point in that. I won't actively try to get rid of them, but I'm not going to rely on them anymore. I'm not that person anymore._

She thought carefully for a moment. _Besides, I have an idea of who it might be. It makes sense. He wants me to know. But if he intended to try to kill me, he would have done so already. So he just wants me to know. Know what? What does he want from me?_

_He doesn't know who I am. To him, I'm just Doctor Roth. Just another psychiatrist, who might have momentarily reminded him of someone else, but- _

She stopped again, rubbing her temples. "Jen," she whispered.

"Yeah?" The other girl's voice sounded from somewhere behind her. "You're being-"

"I know. I want you to go home."

"Rach, we talked about this."

"I know, I it's only another block and besides, something tells me this is going to be unpleasant. Just..."

"You want to be alone right now."

_She knows me too well. _"Y-yes."

There was a light sigh. "Rachel." There was silence. "Never mind. I get it."

"I'm sorry. I'm being difficult."

"No, it's okay. Really, it is. Just make sure to come back in one piece, 'kay?"

"Yeah, I'll try."

She looked up and felt Jennifer's presence vanish - the other girl was quite adept at stealth - and continued on. A moment later, she paused.

The footsteps behind her were gone. She closed her eyes. _I wonder what he's thinking._

* * *

Inside the station, it was mostly dark, but the few lights that were still on indicated that some people, at least, were still in. Rachel contemplated her options for a moment, then decided against going in the usual way and instead circled around the station, looking for another way up.

It wasn't as she had originally thought it would be. It wasn't such an easy choice to condemn the man, despite what he had put her through. It wasn't easy to just pass him off as evil, even though he might have been by most normal definitions, nor was he someone easy to ignore. _It is easy to hate him, though. _She sighed. _Do I hate him still? Even after all this time?_

_I left the old me behind. The past is the past. It's all behind me. I'm a different person now. I left it all when I decided to do this. I reinvented myself, faster than anyone would have thought imaginable, but it was just to get away from it all. So why is it coming back to haunt me now?_

She frowned. _But I'm a different person now. In the past, I would have thrown him in jail without a second thought, just because I hated him. This time, though, I have to know. And it's not only that... _it wasn't as simple as reporting him either. A direct approach with the police would raise too many questions. Why would she, a doctor, surgeon, and psychiatrist, why would she be interested in seeing Batman? What would have been the purpose of it?

_So that's it then. _She stared up toward the sky, eyes glancing over a ladder that led up to the top of the station. Shifting her gloves, Rachel drew her coat around her and began climbing.

Without her powers, it was quite a bit different than it had used to be, but she was still very fit from all her workouts with Jennifer - it only took a minute or so and she managed to do it almost completely silently, just in case anyone happened to be listening and might have been tempted to check.

The wind began blowing as she stepped onto the roof, and involuntarily, she shivered, but not from the cold. Nor from fear, nor nervousness, even. So what was it? She shook her head slowly. _Better not dwell on it. _

Rachel moved over to the signal and tentatively ran her fingers over the handle, the handle that would turn it on and inevitably bring her one step closer to her past. It was not a bad past, but... _stop dwelling on it! _

Forcefully - almost too forcefully - she pulled it back and stepped back into the shadows as the light soared out and radiated out into the night sky. The familiar symbol was dulled against the clouds, but she was sure that if he were watching, he wouldn't miss it. So, she stepped back and waited.

It only took a few moments, but out of the darkness, her eyes managed to barely catch sight of his form swinging onto the roof and step toward the light, turning it off.

"Commissioner?"

She took a deep breath. "No. Me."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "Doctor Roth. Shouldn't you be sleeping at this late hour?"

"I'm not scheduled to go in tomorrow."

"You are still on call, I presume."

She rubbed her temples. "I would rather not be reminded of it. And I would not be out here if it were not important."

"This is about Slade, I presume?"

She feigned hesitation for a moment, just to maintain her ruse. "Slade... Slade... ah yes. Mr. Wilson. It is." She paused. "Or, maybe better known as the mercenary Deathstroke. Why did you send him to me?"

"I presume the police did not let you up here?"

"I didn't bother to ask."

"I see." His eyes told her he was somewhat impressed, or maybe amused by her secrecy. "Yes, I sent him," he spoke slowly, thoughtfully. "He seemed different. I thought you could help him, perhaps."

Her voice rose very slightly in volume. "You sent a dangerous criminal to me without sending him through the police first, and with the intention of having me help him? The guy's nuts. What makes you think-"

"You know that's not true."

She bit her lip, stepping back further.

"There's something else, Doctor Roth. Is it something personal?"

_Oh Azar. Not good. Not good at all. He's sharp. Too sharp. Better come up with something fast. Let's see... _"He..." she let a bit of reluctance show on her face. "He killed my dad." _Not quite, but would've been great if he had, actually. _

"I see. Forgive me, then." His voice was still stone cold, but she sensed that he was at least being somewhat sincere. "I would not have sent him if I had known that."

"No, it's okay. It's my job. I just want to know why you thought I could help him. And what good it would do." She frowned. "I'm sure you saw the evening news."

"Indeed. So you think that was his doing."

"It has to have been. Are you familiar with his history at all?"

"I admit that I could have spent more time looking at it, given the current circumstances. But he was originally in the military. So yes, it is possible."

Her mouth twisted - it was an unreadable expression. He couldn't tell if she was frustrated, or irritated, or sad, or whatever it might have been.

"I had an inkling that something might happen. I should have told the police."

"Or me. Or Nightwing."

"But-" _Shit. I'm not supposed to know about Nightwing's past dealings with Slade. But no way in hell I'd tell him about Slade. He'd go ballistic. _She took another deep breath. "Would it have done any good?"

"I don't know." Batman frowned, then moved closer. "You're hiding things from me, Doctor Roth."

"Confidential things," she snapped back. "As much as you would like to know what Mr. Wilson told me, as of right now, I cannot tell you. The law does not permit it."

He took another step closer. "And, as you are aware, I operate outside the law. You would not have come here for such meaningless chatter. Correct?"

Batman took yet another step closer and stretched a hand out toward her shoulder, but she blocked it with surprising dexterity and he blinked, somewhat impressed. "You're trained in martial arts."

"This is Gotham," she retorted, then sighed. "You're right. I just don't know what to do." Her voice was suddenly very quiet. "With or without my testimony, he already has a one way ticket to any maximum security prison in this country. But it's not about that, is it? It's about helping him, or at the very least, trying to understand. Well, let me tell you," she looked at him directly. "My patient, Mr. Slade Wilson, is not a case in which simple rehabilitation is plausible. As a matter of fact, I don't think he can ever be rehabilitated in any normal sense. He is what he is, and I doubt that will change, whether it is by a conscious effort from me or from him, even."

"That bad, huh." Batman's eyes were piercing. "There is something else, however. You are confused. Not just that, but also about your own relationship with him."

_Was it that obvious? _"I don't believe there can be any confusion, unfortunately. He killed my father. Naturally, I should hate him."

"Do you?"

"I do. However, I also realize that this is, perhaps, what has been troubling me. I should be treating each case from an unbiased, objective point of view. Having my own emotions come into it makes for bad practice."

"How analytical, Doctor Roth. But, let me tell you. It would take quite some strength of character to completely ignore the bias that comes from the man being your father's killer. It would be almost inhuman to do so."

_Yes, he's speaking from experience. But it's not just that. I just... wait. Do I really... pity him? _She shook her head vehemently. _No. _"Then I suppose I'm going to have to be inhuman. In any case, I would like to know a couple things. If you decide to turn him in upon capturing him-"

"Let me correct that statement. If _you _decide to turn him in."

Her eyes narrowed. _Why me? Ugh. He doesn't know how hard this is for me, does he? He doesn't know - well, it has to stay that way. But... _"In that case, he _will _be turned in. But, I want to know what would happen to him."

"Nothing too pretty. Especially if, as you said, there's no chance for him to ever recover."

"So I would effectively be condemning him."

"Doctor Roth." Batman's eyes were softer this time. "Could you possibly be feeling sorry for him?"

"No!" She snapped. "Not at all."

"Or perhaps you are in denial about it?"

She looked at Batman, eyes narrowed. "Like I could feel sorry for someone like him. Nobody forced him into what he was doing. He's done it all of his own free will. And even when he has had the chance to stop, he hasn't taken it. The man's a murderer."

Their eyes met again, and suddenly, she felt afraid. _I can't let him look at me too directly. He'll be able to see through my ruse. _Rachel's lips curved down very slightly. _That's not the reason at all. Yeah, he's a murderer, but even murder doesn't automatically make you evil under even the normal definitions. Even forgetting how the stereotypical classification of evil is really just that - very stereotypical. This is something else altogether. I just don't know why this makes me feel so weird._

"I see. So what's the problem with condemning him, then?"

"Two wrongs don't make a right."

"And throwing him in prison would be wrong?"

"I-" Rachel closed her eyes. _Is that what it is?_

_In the earlier stages of his life, Slade was a servant of the system. He wanted to serve his country. He wanted to be useful to it, or in other words, he had been sort of hypnotized by the order and apparent productivity of the current state of today's society. Maybe it was like an ideal to him? What could be better than serving one's people and being a protector of justice and righteousness?_

_Obviously, that's a load of bullshit. It's not about that at all. This world is too corrupt. There are too many failings of the system. There are too many loopholes, and there are just too many idiotic people. Once he realized that... so that's it? He's been trying to subvert the system this whole time._

_Then, being its prisoner once again would be far worse than any death sentence. So that's the problem?_

She opened her mouth, then closed it, thinking furiously. _In a way, his life is in our hands. Just because I hate him, should he suffer like I did at his hands? Do I really want revenge or anything like that? Or can I just be content with letting it go?_

_Hasn't it been like this for the past few years? Can't I be content with letting my past life go and starting fresh? Stop being so obsessive about these things and just... let it go._

"You do not have to be a saint, Doctor Roth. You are clearly a good person. I have never seen someone struggle so much with this kind of decision, especially given that Slade killed your father. You are trying to be fair and thinking of what will benefit him most without causing harm to others. But might I encourage you to go by how you feel in this case?"

_Except, I don't even know how I feel. And that's not really a good way to do things, as I've found out many times. Being a doctor isn't about how I feel. It's about what's best for everyone. It's not about the money or stroking one's own ego or anything. If I wanted money, I would have gone into business. If I wanted to have people inflate my ego, I would have continued to be... or I would have gone into entertainment, or whatever._

_We - doctors - are here to help people. And we - should - at least, believe in it. Otherwise, why the hell would we put up with these crazy long hours and medical school, and basically not having a life? Okay, well we might have a bit of a life, but much less compared to other people. Beside the point._

"I'll consider it. So, if you find him, I assume you are going to send him back to me?"

"Yes. That is, if he does not find you first."

"I should hope that does not happen." Rachel glanced at her phone. "I should probably be going. Would you mind shadowing me as I walk home?"

"I don't mind. But, I would not recommend you walk alone in the dark on a daily basis. Even if you might be trained, it is very dangerous."

She nodded, then offered him a brief thanks before descending the ladder and stepping back out into the street. A cluster of emotion flickered at the back of her mind and she looked up momentarily, catching sight of a one-eyed figure slinking back into an alley. Rachel sighed, then continued walking back home.

By the time she got back, Jennifer was already fast asleep in a chair, apparently having waited for her as long as she could have. Rachel cursed under her breath and lifted the other girl from the chair, carrying her off to bed. Despite her rather drowsy and somewhat foul mood, however, she still had to smile a little when Jennifer's eyes opened a sliver.

"Coulda told me you were gonna take a million years out there. Would've totally just hogged your bed all to myself."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You're just going to do that anyway."

Jennifer grinned, then feel back into the realm of dreams once more.

* * *

_Morning_

Darkness. It was not a troubled one, nor the sinister darkness of Gotham's night, nor the murky one of dreams. This one was comfortable and warm, soothing and tranquil. The calm darkness of unperturbed sleep, in which there were no dreams and no other beings, and nothing at all. The darkness that pervaded the sleep of someone who did not get enough of it.

For a creature that had been born of it and whose essence was composed of the element, it was a strange thing to have it be something that could take on a myriad of forms. The black night was not friendly in the least; it warned of danger. The alien, cold void of space was numbing and quite deathly. Her father's realm, though not steeped in darkness, was related to it. _That _place was hell. Enough said. But then, the black tranquility of her own room was, perhaps, her favorite. Or the quite solitude away from the destitute city, in which the night was warm, or cool, and the sky was clear. Stars, moon, or not, there was something comforting about the blackness that sunlight could not offer her.

But, as always, such serenity could not last forever. It started as a whisper and a gentle touch, then another sensation altogether - light, creeping in and tinting the black to a pale grey. Slowly, it progressed to orange, then yellow, then white, and her eyelids fluttered, the unpleasant feeling of being torn from sleep suddenly earning her a headache.

"Jennifer..." she moaned. "What time is it even?"

"Err, sorry babe. I just - never mind. Just go back to sleep."

Rachel sighed and held her head, blinking. _Ten AM. I wanted to sleep in more, but I guess it's important if she's waking me up. _

"Seriously, go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you."

The dark-haired girl frowned and cast her gaze toward the television, which had been on just a moment ago. _Azar... let me guess. He went out and did something else. _"Jennifer, turn it back on. And did you dye your hair _again?_"

"Yup. Azure. You like it?"

"It's... honestly, I liked pink the most. But, I guess that's out of the question."

"Yep. Not really sure what fits besides it."

"Yes, well... would you mind turning the television back on? Or do I really have to get up and do it myself?"

Jennifer's mouth twisted. "I really don't think-"

"Jennifer."

"Ugh. Fine."

Rachel's eyes scanned the screen momentarily as her mind began to process the words. _"Bombing at the metro twenty minutes ago. Hundreds injured, dozens killed. Witnesses say that it was a large man in a metal suit-"_

Rachel held her head, trying to rid herself of the want to go back to sleep.

"I'm getting up."

"No, you're staying here. It's your day off."

"Yeah, it's my day off. So don't tell me what I'm going to do during it."

"I'll say whatever I want!" Jennifer glared. "You're going to go back to sleep and you're going to like it." She pushed the smaller girl back down and held her shoulders to the bed. Rachel merely frowned.

"Well then. Being rather authoritative, aren't we?"

"We both know what you're gonna go do if you go out there."

"I don't. Enlighten me."

Jennifer thought for a moment. "Uhh... probably something stupid. You're gonna go try to talk 'im down or somethin', then he's gonna hurt you and-"

"No. Try again."

A huff was her only response.

"I'm going."

"You stubborn bitch."

"Yeah, that's me."

"I'm probably strong enough to keep you here."

"Oh, really?" Rachel brought her hands up and poked Jennifer's sides simultaneously, earning her a nice yelp and relieving the pressure from her shoulders.

"That's playing dirty!"

"And you were the one who told me not to fight clean."

Jennifer glared at her, then grimaced. "I'm coming this time. Not taking no for an answer."

The other girl shrugged, then nodded. "Just let me freshen up a bit before we go. I don't want to look like a mess."

* * *

The closest metro station was only a couple blocks away from Rachel's apartment, but it was not clear from the news whether Slade had escaped into the tunnels or if he had fled somewhere else. In these situations, since they were relatively close to the scene of the incident, her empathic abilities were not very useful, considering the number and intensity of the emotions floating around her, so instead, they had to resort to detective work for any clue as to where their target might have gone.

A little ways up the tunnels, Rachel caught sight of a large area that had obviously been bombed, which was currently blocked off by yellow tape and a number of police officers, who were guarding the area. Paramedics were running up and down the stairs leading toward the surface, carrying as many people with them as they could, but there were still many bodies on the ground, many alive, who probably were in the process of dying.

Rachel glanced at Jennifer. "Take a look around." Her eyes shifted. "Batman's nearby. I don't know about Nightwing."

"You're okay with that?"

"I mean, even if means he finds out, this isn't something worth hiding my identity for. Besides, I could pretend to have just been called on for something and was just heading off to work."

"Doubt he'd buy that. And besides, what do I tell him?"

"Tell him you're a friend."

"Yeah, and why would I be with you right now?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I don't know, make something up. I doubt he's preoccupied about us right now anyway. We've got more important things to do. Just hang tight while I go help out, okay?"

"Sure..."

Jennifer stepped back as Rachel walked toward the tape and a police officer moved to cut off her path.

She paused for a moment, rummaging through her purse. "My name is Doctor Rachel Roth. I work for Gotham hospital, and it seems like you lot could use a hand around here. Please let me pass. We don't want to have more people dying because of a shortage of paramedics."

The officer nodded and let her duck under the tape. Rachel glanced back at Jennifer for a moment, then toward the bodies in front of her. She knelt beside one - a young man - and felt for a pulse.

_Dead. _She pursed her lips and moved onto the next one. _Also dead. This lady's gone too. Azar, this amount of physical trauma is tremendous. What kind of explosive did he even use? I didn't think Slade was the type for a terrorist attack type of thing. He always seemed to be more crafty than that. _

There was a groan to her left and she moved over quickly, to an older man who was breathing heavily, holding his side.

"Take it easy," she spoke quietly, touching him gently so she would not startle him. "Where does it hurt?"

"My... back... and... ribs..."

She nodded and felt around gingerly, not wanting to move the man before knowing what types of injuries he had sustained. _Fractured ribs for sure. But by the looks of it... spinal cord injuries? It's hard to be sure, but I can't move him or I might paralyze him. _

"Stay put and try not to move. How uncomfortable is it?"

"It... hurts..." he gasped for breath, trying to suppress the pain.

"Look at me," she spoke again after a moment. _Need to give him something to focus his attention on. And to deal with the shock. _"Look at me. Can you open your eyes?"

"Y-yes." A moment passed and his fixated on hers.

"Good. Listen. You're going to be fine, okay? Just try not to move or it might get worse. Just hang on for another moment and we'll get you out of here."

"O-okay."

Rachel glanced to the side as a pair of paramedics laid a stretcher down beside her and looked at her expectantly.

"Might have spinal cord injuries," she whispered. "I couldn't be sure so I didn't move him."

"Got it."

She offered the man a brief smile as they placed him on the stretcher, then moved onto the next person. This time, she found a young woman who was still fully conscious, but was gushing blood from a wound in her leg, trying to apply pressure to it to stop the blood loss. Rachel rushed over and knelt down, eyes scanning the area for anything that might be useful. There was a broken wood plank nearby - not the most sanitary of things, but it had to do - and she grabbed it. _Now I just need something to tie this down with. Anything will do... _she looked to the side and her mouth twisted into an odd frown. _Well, this guy's dead so he won't need this anymore... _

Rachel took the belt from the corpse beside her and wordlessly moved to the woman, tying the piece of wood around the girl's upper thigh, pressing on it until she stopped the blood flow to the wound and tying it down tightly. The girl gasped in pain for a moment, but as Rachel eased her back against a wall, her breathing evened out and the pain left her eyes.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. What's your name?"

"Christie."

Rachel nodded. "Doctor Roth," she offered her own name in reply. "I'm going to ask you a couple things if that's okay."

"S-sure."

"First, what happened to you? How did you get hurt?"

"I didn't see too much. All I know is, my dad went down here while I went to go get our breakfast. I heard this big explosion and I wasn't sure what happened so I rushed down here to see if he was okay. He broke his leg so I tried to help him out of here, but like maybe five or ten minutes after the first explosion, I saw this guy walking in the tunnel and he pushed a button or something and there was another explosion. I don't know what happened after that."

"What about your dad?"

"He-" she swallowed, looking nervous. "They said he'd be okay. They told me he would be."

"Then I'm sure he will be," Rachel kept her voice as even and smooth as possible. "This man, did you see where he was going?"

"I-I'm not sure. He looked like he was going deeper into the tunnels, but it was dark and I couldn't see much and I was scared and-"

"Shh. It's fine if you don't know. It's okay. Listen, my first priority is to get you out of here safely, okay? So don't worry."

The young woman sat back, looking slightly relieved somewhat. But then, she sat forward again, frowning a little. Rachel turned at almost exactly the same time; both of them heard the same thing simultaneously.

_Tick tock, Raven. Time is running out._

The familiar - unwelcome - voice sounded in her head and she winced before realizing what was about to happen.

"Everyone get down!" Rachel yelled and grabbed Christie, pushing her into a corner.

There were a few panicked screams as there was a loud bang and the ground began to rumble. A second one followed, then a third, and suddenly the ground beneath them erupted in a bright flash of toxic gas and incendiary energy. There were screams all around, and Rachel tried to speak to calm everyone down, but something hit her on the head and everything went black.

* * *

"D-doctor Roth? Doctor Roth... please be okay. Oh God. Please don't be dead. Please-"

Rachel groaned and held her head, trying to work her way into a sitting position. Dizziness overwhelmed her though, but before she fell back down, a pair of arms caught her and pulled her back.

"You stupid idiot!" Jennifer hissed into her ear. "You almost got killed!"

Rachel's eyes fluttered; she could barely make out anything through the thick smoke. "Don't give me that. I wasn't even close to getting killed. I just got hit by something, that's all. See, I'm not even bleeding."

"You're still a dumbass."

"Whatever. Can you see anything? What's going on?"

"I can't. The explosion blew the lights out and this damn smoke is too thick. I think I saw a bunch of rocks block off the exits, though. He wanted to trap us in here."

"Great. Just fucking great."

"D-doctor... Roth? Are you-"

Rachel turned. "I'm fine. Listen, Christie. I want you to stay here. My friend and I are going to try to find a way out of here, okay?"

"We are?"

"You are?"

Rachel put a hand over her face. "Yes, we are."

"Are you really?" Another voice sounded and suddenly, she felt her body being jerked back by a force much stronger than she had been anticipating.

"Rachel!" Jennifer screamed out suddenly, grabbing for her, but her assailant was faster and managed to tug her back into the darkness.

"Let's go talk somewhere a little more private."

"Mr. Wilson," she deliberately kept her voice cold. "I have to ask you to let me go."

"Rachel!" Jennifer shouted again, eyes gleaming in the darkness. "Let go of her, you freak!"

"Make me."

The dark haired girl struggled for a moment, then sent an elbow back with as much force as she could muster, followed by a pair of kicks and a second elbow. The shock of making contact with hard metal stunned her arm for a moment, but the force of the impact surprised Slade as well and she managed to worm her way free. He lunged for her as she slipped away, but a well placed kick deflected his arm and threw him off balance momentarily. Jennifer was by her side in an instant and a swift sweeping motion caused him to lose his footing in the darkness. The clang of metal on rock echoed out as he fell, but the man was quite durable and managed to get up quickly.

"You surprised me there, Doctor Roth," Slade muttered, half menacingly, half impressed. "One would not expect a woman of your size to be able to hit so hard."

"Then why don't you go pick on someone your own size?" Jennifer stuck her tongue out at him.

Slade stepped forward again. "I'm not out for a fight, you see. I have something else in mind- oof!"

Another dark shape appeared out of nowhere and tackled the man to the ground. In the same motion, a couple flash bangs revealed their surroundings for a moment, and two explosive charges were tossed at the rubble blocking off the exits.

"Get out of here!" Batman growled.

"But-"

Rachel clamped a hand over Jennifer's mouth and nodded toward one of the exits, where light slowly began to penetrate into the darkness. "Take the girl and get out of here."

"Like hell I will," Jennifer hissed back. "I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"What are you two doing?" Batman grunted. "Get out of here before things start getting messy."

"Indeed, escape while you can. _If _you can," Slade's voice was as calm as ever, though it was easy to sense the killer intent behind it.

Batman's eyes widened momentarily and he lunged forward, but Slade drew back and ran a hand over something on his belt - a detonator, probably - while eyeing Batman warily.

"You came well prepared," the dark knight muttered, stepping back.

"It would have been foolish not to be," Slade's hand closed around a small device. "So, what will you two do?"

Rachel eyed the exit while Jennifer looked nervously at the masked villain.

_Get out of here, _Rachel's fingers squeezed the other girl's own, but Jennifer stayed put. Batman shifted slightly, then froze as Slade held up the detonator warningly.

"I doubt you will want me to set off this one," the mercenary took yet another step back.

"Correct. I don't."

Batman took a step back as well, but in that instant, something came flying out of the darkness and knocked the detonator from Slade's hand. The caped crusader shifted to the side and caught a camouflaged batarang with one hand and in one smooth motion, swept Slade's feet out from under him. The villain responded quickly and landed in a defensive position, moving to block a couple blows before reaching over and grabbing his device. Batman bore down on him quickly and hit it off to the side, but Slade reacted quickly enough to dodge the second attack and counter with his own.

Rachel shared another nervous glance with Jennifer before sighing and standing.

"Wait," she whispered.

Both men instantly stopped fighting and looked toward her.

The dark-haired girl shook her head. "Mr. Wilson probably just wants to talk to me and you, for that matter."

"If he wanted to do that, he would have gone to his appointment-"

"-on his own terms. Am I correct in assuming that?"

Slade's one visible eye narrowed. "What makes you think that, Doctor Roth?"

She shook her head. "You're not out to kill, otherwise you would have blown us all up already. The metro isn't a place where you'd really target under normal circumstances, unless you wanted to draw attention to yourself. You wanted us to come, but it wasn't to get rid of either of us. So, that means you want to talk."

Batman stepped back, frowning.

"Very perceptive, Doctor Roth. You were a fine psychiatrist after all."

"We can still help you, Mr. Wilson," she spoke as softly and encouragingly as she could. "There is still time-"

"For what? For me to recover? For you to 'reform' me?" His voice was still calm, but the slight edginess to his movement told her one thing.

_He's not going to return to normal society willingly. He'd rather die than become part of this 'system' that he views as corrupt and idiotic. Society, that is. _

"It does not have to be this way," she tried again. "You don't know until you try."

"It has always been like this. And it will not change. I am a hated criminal and have no place in _your _world."

Rachel frowned. _He left off a few words that he wanted to say. He meant to say our pathetic, little, corrupt world. It's in his gestures, but they're angled toward me and less toward Batman. Does this mean that he still does want to talk to me, but without other people around? He's not just talking randomly; he's trying to get a message across._

"Well..."

"Enough talk," Batman growled, stepping forward.

"I agree." Slade dodged a blow, then another, then took out something from his belt and tossed it toward Rachel.

"Get down!" Batman moved to intercept the blow and tackled her to the ground right before it made contact.

There was a small explosion, filling the air with thick smoke. Rachel coughed a few times, feeling the acrid gas sear her throat, but tried to extend her senses to see if she could track the man.

_Damn, which way did he go? _

She took another step forward, then felt a presence above her. She looked up instantly, eyes betraying none of the nervousness she felt.

_We'll be in touch. Tonight, Miss Roth. Tonight._


End file.
